Conventionally, female terminals such as the terminal disclosed in, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application No. 1-132072 have been widely used as female terminals of this type.
FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram of the above mentioned conventional female terminal.
As is shown in FIG. 14, this female terminal 10 is equipped with a bottom plate 1, side plates 2a and 2b which rise vertically from both side edges 1a and 1b of the bottom plate 1, two upper contact parts 4a and 4b which are formed by bending the respective free ends 3a and 3b of the side plates 2a and 2b inward so that these free ends face the bottom plate 1, and a lower contact part 5 which extends rearward from the vicinity of the front end portion 1c of the bottom plate 1 on the side where a mating tab terminal 9 is inserted, and which has a projection 6 formed on its upper surface. Furthermore, the rear end portion of the lower contact part 5 extends rearward and is bent upward so that a pressing part 5a is formed, and a portion of the bottom plate 1 extends rearward and forms a barrel 7 which is used for the connection of wires. When a mating tab terminal 9 which has a hole 9a formed in a position corresponding to the projection 6 of the lower contact part 5 is inserted between the upper contact parts 4a and 4b and lower contact part 5 of the female terminal 10 constructed as described above, the hole 9a in the tab terminal 9 and the projection 6 on the female terminal 10 engage so that the female terminal 10 and tab terminal 9 are connected. When the tab terminal 9 is to be removed from the female terminal 10, the engagement of the projection 6 and hole 9a is released by pressing the pressing part 5a downward so that the lower contact part 5 is caused to bend downward with a point in the vicinity of the front end portion 1c of the bottom plate 1 acting as a supporting point.
However, in the female terminal 10 described above, the upper contact parts 4a and 4b have a cantilever beam structure. As a result, the following problem arises: i. e., if an unreasonable amount of force is applied to the upper contact parts 4a and 4b as a result of the tab terminal 9 being inserted from an incorrect insertion direction when the tab terminal 9 is inserted between the upper contact parts 4a and 4b and the lower contact part 5, the upper contact parts 4a and 4b are easily deformed.
Furthermore, since the pressing part 5a in the female terminal 10 described above is formed by extending the rear end portion of the lower contact part 5 in the rearward direction, the overall female terminal must have a length equal to the total of the length of the lower contact part 5 and the length of the pressing part 5a. Accordingly, this creates a restriction in terms of reducing the overall size of the female terminal 10.